Our favorite cozy games (for now)
All the games I'm playing right now that center empathy, kindness, friendship, and satisfying gameplay.
Don’t rock the boat says trans girls are worth killing for
A must-play horror tale of transness and tentacles
Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave's most unexpected pair is a fascinating tangle of sex and gender
"I could adopt the form of a woman so beautiful I would shine like the moon..."
Latest
Should I push through playing a critically acclaimed game when I'm not having fun?
"Somehow, Outer Wilds manages to fall on the wrong line of all of my game preferences"
Moonlight Peaks strikes just the right balance between cutesy and deep
It's unapologetically dramatic, it’s cute as hell (literally), and it has *magic*
Big Walk lights the way for non-toxic masculinity in games
Interrogating "men don't talk to each other" through a game about communication
Tiny Bookshop made me want to change my career
What happened to that girl who saw herself as an aspiring author? As it turns out, she's still a part of me
How do you get over your attachment to characters when a game ends?
"The game coming to an end almost feels like grief. There is an emptiness and sense of loss that I don't know how to fill..."
The Wolverine game may not be good but thank goodness it's weird
It's not fun to play and yet I had a great time
Dear Mother
Should I push through playing a critically acclaimed game when I'm not having fun?
"Somehow, Outer Wilds manages to fall on the wrong line of all of my game preferences"
How do you get over your attachment to characters when a game ends?
"The game coming to an end almost feels like grief. There is an emptiness and sense of loss that I don't know how to fill..."
How do I figure out which couch co-op games are right for my relationship?
"It Takes Two started off well with amazing puzzles and an interesting approach. But the story of a fighting couple on the verge of divorce was brutal"
What games will help me heal from gamer burnout?
"Sometimes, I feel as if I've simply outgrown gaming as a hobby..."
Indie
Moonlight Peaks strikes just the right balance between cutesy and deep
It's unapologetically dramatic, it’s cute as hell (literally), and it has *magic*
Big Walk lights the way for non-toxic masculinity in games
Interrogating "men don't talk to each other" through a game about communication
Tiny Bookshop made me want to change my career
What happened to that girl who saw herself as an aspiring author? As it turns out, she's still a part of me
Big Walk sound designer Em Halberstadt on capturing its wild Australian soundscape
A conversation about birdsong, Wilson's Promontory, and being quiet
Q&A
In conversation with Alexis Sara, Nebula Award-winning writer of Thirsty Sword Lesbians
Sara opens up about “minority soup,” queer motherhood, and her work on the upcoming expansion
In conversation with Dungeon Bitches creator Emily Allen
"What if you could respond to that guy catcalling you by shooting him? And what kind of person would you be if that were how you were living?"
In conversation with Leftist Gamer Memes
What LGM hopes to accomplish with her meme page, from developing a game to funding mutual aid
Irene Koh's Angel Arcade is about the fighting game community, emphasis on community
Koh's new webcomic is inspired by the local Guilty Gear community they founded
Cozy
Worrying about your Nintendogs is totally normal according to psychology
Plus, we talk to the TikTok creator adopting abandoned Nintendogs cartridges
Tomodachi Life is my new favorite fanfic idea generator
I gave Aerith a botany book and now she holds gatherings to rant about how you can’t have gardening without “God.”
In a post-slop world, Tomodachi Life’s humor rings hollow
Inject it into my veins, or don’t, I don’t really care
Horror
In Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, women are the enemy
The game pretty much speedruns all the horror tropes for women — damsel in distress, fridging, and the hag
Playing old Nancy Drew games as a gothic heroine
Its gameplay even replicates the form many gothic novels take: the epistolary.
Resident Evil: Requiem has left its aging heroines behind
Female characters over age 40 have been relegated to the sidelines
You know what, Resident Evil: Requiem? Fatness isn't scary
Body shape shouldn't be a punchline either, by the way
Metroid
“Disobedience will not be tolerated”: On linearity, subservience and feminine agency in Metroid Dread
“You have followed my instructions faithfully thus far. Continue to do so.”
'Any objections, Lady?': On linearity, subservience and feminine agency in Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Other M
“Understood, Adam. No objections, of course.”
How vaginal imagery in Metroid Prime 4 redefines Samus — and why it matters for shooters
Yonic architecture is a constant, from the moment the player is given control of Samus until the very end.
